1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus whereby a user can easily change toner.
2. Related Art
Generally, a small-sized image forming apparatus, such as a laser printer, a compact photo-copier, a facsimile machine or a multi-functional product, utilizes a developing unit provided with toner. However, in case of an image forming apparatus that needs a large quantity of toner, a toner container is separately installed to accommodate the toner.
FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of an engine part of an image forming apparatus such as a printer equipped with a large capacity toner container. Referring to FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus includes a paper cassette 10, a paper feeding unit 20, a developing unit 30, a transfer unit 40, a fixing unit 50 and a toner cartridge 60. The toner included in the toner cartridge 60 is supplied to the developing unit 30 by a toner convey unit 70.
The paper cassette 10 accommodates many sheets of printing paper, and the paper feeding unit 20 supplies the individual sheet of printing paper to the developing unit 30 and the transfer unit 40. The developing unit 30 forms a predetermined toner image, and the transfer unit 40 transfers the toner image on the printing paper.
The fixing unit 50 applies heat and pressure to an image electrostatically attached to the transfer unit 40 and fixes an electrostatic image on the printing paper. The toner cartridge 60 is accommodated with toner supplied to the developing unit 30, and the toner is supplied to the developing unit 30 by the toner convey unit 70.
However, the toner cartridge 60 used in conventional image forming apparatuses is bulky due to accommodation of a large quantity of toner for printing many sheets of printing paper. As a result, a user often has difficulty in changing the toner cartridge 60 due to heavy weight of the toner cartridge 60. Moreover, there is another disadvantage in that a large space is required inside an image forming apparatus due to the size of the toner cartridge 60, as shown, for example, in FIG. 1.